1973 Fender Stratocaster Hardtail.

An All Original 'Lightweight' Seventies 'Ash'-Body' HardTail Stratocaster

This super light 'Natural' "Hardtail" Stratocaster weighs just 7.20 lbs. and has a nut width of just under 1 5/8 inches and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. Two-piece solid ash body, contoured on back and lower bass bout, one-piece maple fretted neck with 21 original medium frets and black dot position markers. Two "butterfly" string trees, one with nylon spacer. Large headstock with "Fender" in black with gold trim, "STRATOCASTER" in black beside it, and one patent number "3,143,028" beneath "Fender." Individual Fender "F" closed-back tuners with octagonal metal buttons. Three-bolt neck plate with large Fender "F" logo and with serial number between the top two screws. Three single-coil black bottom pickups with staggered polepieces and balanced outputs of 5.42k, 5.68k and 5.41k. Three-layer (white/black/white) plastic pickguard with eleven screws. Three controls (one volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch, all on pickguard. White plastic Stratocaster knobs with greenish gold lettering. Fender combined six-saddle 'hardtail' bridge/tailpiece. The three potentiometers are stamped "137 7337" (Stackpole September 1973). The end of the neck is stamped in black "0903 5213" (December 1973), the underside of the neck is stamped in black "J. Torres" and the neck cavity is stamped in black "S. Aguya". This guitar is in near mint (9.25) condition. There is some very light lacquer checking and just one little 'ding' on the top between the bridge and the jack input. Housed in its original 'Export' Fender three-latch rectangular black hardshell case with purple, green, orange and cream plush lining (8.75).